TYLER, Texas – In a battle of undefeated teams in the American Southwest Conference, the University of Texas-Tyler downed the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs 15-6 Friday night at Irwin Field. On Saturday, Texas-Tyler stayed undefeated with a sweep of the previously undefeated Bulldogs 7-5, 6-5.

Texas-Tyler, out of the ASC East, improved to 12-0 overall. TLU, from the ASC West, fell to 11-3. The cross-division games between ASC East and ASC West teams do not count in conference standings.

In the first game Friday, Texas-Tyler's Ryan Campbell struck out eight in six innings, and the two, three and four batters (Clay Copeland, Brett Amyx and Andrew Damewood) in the Patriots' lineup went a combined 9-for-15 with seven runs scored and five RBI. Jason Foley gave TLU an early 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run double, but Texas-Tyler scored five runs in the first off TLU starter Adam Enloe. Enloe (1-1) allowed eight earned runs in four innings. Campbell improved to 3-0. Joseph Towns and Zach James each had three RBI for Texas-Tyler. Jake Kaase was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI for TLU. The Bulldogs had a four-run seventh inning to pull within 8-6, but the Patriots scored six in the bottom of the seventh and another run in the eighth to pull away from TLU.

In the doubleheader, Texas-Tyler won in dramatic fashion. With the double-header win, the Patriots swept No. 14 Texas Lutheran, giving the Bulldogs their first loss in a sweep since 2004. Patriots head coach James Vilade says it was emotional two days. "The intensity was there the whole weekend," Vilade said. "Both teams have to be pretty exhausted by now, but that was a huge series for us." "It's one of those things that when you see that matchup early, it was of interest to a lot of people because of Texas Lutheran's ranking, and we were both undefeated. This was a huge three games for our program,. It shows a lot of what this team is made of. You couldn't point to one guy all weekend who carried us, guys just took turns stepping up and carrying the load."

In game one Saturday, the Patriots rallied from a 4-1 deficit with a four-run fifth to take the lead. Kendall Fox walked to lead the inning, then was driven in by Andrew Damewood. Joseph Towns doubled in Brett Amyx, then Michael Caggiano hit a two-run homer to take the lead for good. Towns would add a two RBI double in the sixth. Brett Holland got the win, going five strong innings. He gave up four hits and four runs, three of those earned. Patrick McClure and Blake Burnett came in for the final two innings to close the door. "Holland threw the ball really well," Vilade said. "McClure was great, he had a lot of good pitches, and Burnett came in in a tough situation and got the save. Twice now, he's come in to finish the game with guys on base and done a great job for us."

The Patriots didn't lead game two until the final at-bat, but pulled out a sensational win in the bottom of the ninth for the 6-5 win. With the score tied at four going into the final frame, the Bulldogs scored on a wild pitch to take a one-run lead. In the Patriots ninth, Fox singled and took second on a wild pitch, then Clay Copeland walked. With two runners on, Damewood hit a sensational drive down the third base line for a two RBI walk-off double. "That was great motivation for our team, the crowds were great all weekend. It starts with getting the leadoff hitter on, Fox really drove one into left field. Clay got a walk, and gave Damewood a chance at the plater, and he really got a hold of it. It was legit." Michael Stutts pitched three innings of three-hit ball in relief for the win. Damewood finished 2-for-5 with three RBI, and Chris Goss also added a pair of RBI.